The Ballad of the Snowflake
by writer writing
Summary: Wintering in El Pueblo, Sister Ruth and Kid Cole's son, Isaiah, displays behaviors that aren't like the typical 3-year-old. The locals all have an opinion as to why that is, including the Brays. Things reach a climax when Isaiah and Abigail Bray go missing during a terrible snowstorm. 1843. AU. Fourteenth in a series.
1. Chapter 1

Sister Ruth didn't go to freak shows for the same reason most people did. Instead of going to gawk at them, she went to tell them they were loved by their Creator.

There was a presenter introducing the group of unusual people. He started with a teenage boy of about 17. "He's a total idiot. You can't carry a normal conversation with him. He doesn't even understand what I'm saying to you."

Ruth's anger burned at the unkind words and she was about to say something, but the next part intrigued her. "But he can quote the entire Bible from memory. Frank, 1 Chronicles 1:18."

"And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber."

"How do we know this ain't rigged?" shouted a gentleman from somewhere in the crowd.

"Give him any verse and he can recite it for you. Why I'm sure this fine lady here can verify it with the Bible in her hands," he said, having seen Sister Ruth since she was in the front row.

"Isaiah 11:3"

"And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:"

Ruth flipped to verify, not for the crowd's benefit, but because she was so amazed.

"What a talent. Wasted on a dummy like him," said the man standing directly behind her.

Her anger returned and memory of the reason for being there in the first place resurfaced. She flipped to Exodus, having a rough idea of where the verse she was looking for was and when she found it, called out Exodus 4:11 **.**

The boy recited back. "And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?"

 _November 1843_

Kid Cole, Sister Ruth, and their 2 children were spending the winter months at the fort called El Pueblo. It sat along the Arkansas river. It was full of trappers and traders of various races along with families and settlers. The folks there mostly traded with one another for their needs, but there was a small store to get the most basic of supplies. They entered into said store, needing to restock their supplies.

"So ya'll did get married after all," said a voice that was still familiar to them after these many years.

15 years had aged the two people running the store as it had aged the Coles, but Ruth would have known them anywhere since it was the first couple she had ever married, Loren and Maude Bray.

Ruth grinned at Loren. "I think you'd be safe in making that assumption." She referenced her rounded middle that announced there would soon be a new Cole. "And ya'll finally opened up a store."

"Yeah. Left Olive and her husband running the ranch. They like that sort of stuff better than me. This is our daughter, Abigail."

Abigail was a dark-haired, blue-eyed girl blessed with good looks even at 4. She smiled at the strangers and curtseyed. "How do you do?"

"Cute as a button, ain't she?" said the proud papa. "I think sometimes the customers come just to visit with our Abigail. She draws them in left and right."

Kid introduced their children to the Brays though Mercy only smiled and said a soft hello and Isaiah didn't respond at all. If their son had heard Loren saying hello, he pretended not to.

"Why don't you show Mercy your dolls?" Loren asked his daughter.

Abigail took Mercy by the hand and led her over to her toys.

Loren didn't forget Isaiah. He handed him a wooden box full of tin soldiers. "Here you go, son. To play with, and for Kid Cole's boy, I might even let you keep one."

With the pleasantries over, Kid said to Loren, "I could use some new bullets. You got any?"

"I think he wanted a boy," Maude quietly confided to Ruth when the men were on the opposite side of the small store, "but he dotes on her like she was a princess or an angel or something."

"She is cute," Ruth said with a smile.

"And spoiled by her father." The child in question had abandoned the dolls and was now reaching into one of the candy jars. "With a terrible sweet tooth. Abigail, your pa already let you have one. You're going to spoil your supper."

Maude spoke gently, but there was a fist of iron behind her velvet glove. Abigail heard it because she compiled.

"Speaking of supper," Maude said, "Why don't you and your family come eat with us?"

"We'd like that."

"Two children and one on the way. How fortunate you are. I'd like for Abigail to have a sister or brother, but I had a rough time with Abigail and Loren refuses to try again." She was working on folding a piece of fabric as she talked.

Ruth grabbed the other ends and helped. "I think that's very sweet. It shows his love and concern for you. Some men wouldn't care if it endangered their wife or not." She thought of her own husband's love and concern when she'd told him of their latest addition to the family.

 _It was a beautiful, star-studded night, the kind of night that shouted the majesty and splendor of God's creation. The kids were in bed, leaving them free to cuddle and star-gaze._

 _"Hold my hand," Ruth requested._

 _She didn't have to ask twice. In fact, if she had just lifted her hand up he would have taken it._

 _She placed their clasped hands on her still flat stomach. Communicating the news without words. She looked back and gave him a special smile._

 _"Do you mean-" he began hopefully._

 _She nodded and he kissed her joyfully, the tangible proof of their love and God's love between them._

 _"I'm thankful we'll be wintering when the baby's time comes, for once," Kid said when he broke the kiss. "You'll have plenty of time to rest up."_

 _Their active 2-year-old was obviously awake and getting into things from the clatter in the wagon._

 _She chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to rest."_

The girls were playing nicely together despite their 3 years age difference.

Isaiah sat in the floor. He didn't play with them so much as he arranged them. He spent an inordinate amount of time lining up the soldiers into a perfect line, moving them so exactingly that it was in terms of millimeters rather than inches.

"That's kind of strange," Loren remarked, noticing the boy's unusual play.

"Loren," Maude chided.

"Well, ain't it?"

Kid straightened to his full height and moved closer to Loren. "I don't like it when folks make unkind remarks about children. I like it even less when it's my child."

Loren had always been a little in awe of Kid Cole and a little intimidated when he got to talking like that and he immediately clamped his mouth shut.

"Come on, Mercy, Isaiah. We can go shopping another time," Kid said, leading them out.

"He didn't mean no offense by it," Maude said fretfully, giving Ruth the things they'd done picked out. "Please say ya'll will still come for supper."

"I'm sure we will. He just needs some time to simmer down," she said, laying a reassuring hand on Maude's shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2

Kid was still stewing over the incident an hour later in their rented house. Ruth went over to sit with him and talk to him about it.

"I really don't think Loren meant to offend us and he certainly didn't mean to hurt Isaiah's feelings. I don't even think Isaiah heard. They invited us to come eat. I think we should put it behind us and go," she advised.

"That wasn't even the worst of it," he said as if he hadn't heard her at all. "Of the things Isaiah does."

At that moment, Isaiah was looking out the window for the dog he could hear barking and telling and asking Mercy about it, talking a mile a minute.

"Why can't he talk plain?" Kid asked. They sometimes forgot he was hard to understand because they had learned to decode most of his speech though Mercy understood him best. She was following everything he shot off at her. Kid and Ruth were only catching bits and pieces.

"Because that's the way the good Lord made him." It was a simple but true answer.

"I have a bad feeling there's something wrong with him. He needs healing as much as any of the people at your revivals."

Didn't she know it. He was too young for faith healing, but hadn't she prayed the Lord would fix his speech among other things? The Lord hadn't seen fit to heal him though. Just like he hadn't seen fit to heal Kid of his consumption. Why did it seem like she couldn't help those closest to her? "No use crying over what we can't change. So we going?"

Kid wrestled with his own questions. Isaiah had been born with the cord around his neck and he wondered if that wasn't how his speech had gotten messed up. And they said a mother's stress while she carried her baby could wreck havoc on a child's health and what could have been more stressful than being kidnapped while in labor. If he had been with her protecting her instead of chasing after ghosts, maybe things would have been different with their son now.

Of course, he would never know for sure, but he carried guilt over it just the same. At the very least, she wouldn't have had to go through the delivery alone. He took her hand. He wouldn't leave her side this time, not until the baby came. Not even a tornado could carry him away. "I suppose we ought too."

sss

With harvest just over, there was plenty of fruits and vegetables to make a more than satisfying meal. Not to mention that the Brays' trading post carried a variety of foodstuff.

"We ain't been out in this part of the territory, well, since ya'll last saw us. We'll be here in El Pueblo till spring because of the snow. I'm anxious to get to know the people here and get a church going," Ruth told them to get the conversation going after the blessing was said.

"That'd be nice," Maude said. "I still remember the wonderful sermons you gave when you were staying with Loren and Olive."

"If a woman's preaching though, the attendance will be low," Loren warned. "Not that I have anything against a woman preaching, mind. The Lord's hand has to be on you for healing to take place the way it does, but the other men won't be so open-minded."

Maude had to greatly restrain herself to keep from rolling her eyes. She loved Loren with all her heart and he had grown to love her, a love that had really taken off after Abigail had been born, but open-minded was not a word she'd use to describe her husband. She could count the number of jobs he would consider suitable for a woman on one hand.

Maude noticed Kid wasn't saying anything and she started nudging Loren under the table to get him to apologize like they'd talked about beforehand.

"And listen, I am sorry," Loren said in his grumbly but sincere way. "Didn't think about how it might sound when I said what I did. It wasn't so strange and your Isaiah's a fine-looking boy."

He was too with his light blonde hair and true blue eyes. It was ill-timed that his chin was currently shining with excessive drool. It was like he forgot he had to swallow sometimes. Ruth reached over with her handkerchief and dried it off.

It was Ruth's turn to nudge Kid. "And I'm sorry for being so quick to get angry," Kid said.

"You had reason," Loren said. "I don't always think before I speak."

"Ain't we all had that trouble, brother?" Ruth said cheerfully, glad they were past that.

The adults continued to exchange stories of what they'd been up to after the meal was over. Abigail and Isaiah had taken up a game of tag. Mercy refrained from it because she knew it wasn't a game to play indoors.

"Looks like those 2 have hit it off," Maude said with a smile.

"Well, they are closer in age," Ruth pointed out.

"We should make some time for the children to play together," Maude suggested.

"And you should put your girl in school," Loren said, chiming in. "The term's only just started. Keep her from being backwards."

"Loren," Maude said in a whisper, seeing as how he'd stuck his foot in his mouth again.

"Well, you know what I mean," Loren said more to the Coles than to his wife. "Kids need to get out and make friends their own age."

"I think so too," Ruth agreed. "Would you like that, Mercy? Going to school with the other kids?"

The child nodded agreeably, but she looked a little worried too.


	3. Chapter 3

Mercy experienced a fitful night of sleep and her first words that morning were, "What if the other kids don't like me?"

Ruth set to brushing her tangled hair. "Why wouldn't they like you?"

Mercy only shrugged, so Ruth answered for her. "You're a kind person. That's what will make you friends. Just be yourself and the other children'll love you. And there's one friend you have with you always."

"Jesus." Mercy was grateful for that. She really was, but you couldn't play games with Jesus at recess. She winced as her mother hit a snag.

"That's right. And He'll always be true even when we're not being a good friend to Him."

With her braids done, she got dressed, poked at her breakfast, and found it was time to go too soon.

Ruth handed her a bucket. "Your lunch. I know you're close enough to walk home, but you might want to eat with your new friends. I packed you a surprise in there. Don't peek until lunch."

Her parents and Isaiah walked her to school. Her father tipped her chin affectionately and told her good luck. Shy at times himself, he seemed to empathize with her nervousness in a way her mother couldn't.

The bucket in one hand and her reader and slate board in the other, she marched to the door. The school was actually the teacher's house and she must have seen her coming for she opened the door for her.

"I'm Mrs. Moss. Your pa told me you were coming early this morning. We're happy to have you. Put your lunch on the back wall and I'll introduce you just as soon as I call everyone inside."

Mrs. Moss, a widow who lived by herself and so made her living teaching, was in her 30s with practical clothes, a sensible bun, and a no nonsense attitude to match her appearance. She had a handheld bell she rang that brought the kids in.

14 children all made up of various ages from 7-16 and crowded into the small living space, dividing into boys on one side and girls on the other with the youngest kids in front and the oldest in back.

When all the kids were seated on the rough, wooden benches, the teacher with a hand on Mercy's shoulder, said, "This is Mercy Cole. She'll be joining us for the winter term and I know we'll all make her feel welcome, won't we?"

"Yes, Mrs. Moss," the class responded.

Mercy took her place on the front bench, her stomach still aflutter with nerves. She caught a glimpse of movement through the window. She saw her family standing in the hedge of trees and she smiled. It was comforting knowing they were there, waiting to make sure she was going to be alright. She wasn't exactly sure when they did go home, but she found she enjoyed learning with the company of other kids even if she hated it when she got called on to recite a story from her reader.

She loved to read, but she hated having all those curious eyes on her even though they were supposed to be working. Her teacher seemed pleased though only stopping her to tell her not to drop her g's or to try to get her to say her words some silly way. Her momma never tried to fix her pronunciation, but she supposed teachers were funny that way. Still, Mrs. Moss seemed nice; she had a warm and patient smile.

Mercy knew who she wanted to make friends with by lunch, an outgoing girl with beautiful copper red hair that reminded her of a shiny new penny. She had a perfectly lovely name too, Paula. But Mercy was much too timid to ask to be friends or even to say a simple hi, but she did try to communicate her friendliness every so often with a smile.

During the noon hour, she inched her way in her direction, hoping Paula would ask her to join her and the group of girls she ate with. They looked like they were having such a good time.

Paula did notice her, but not in the way that she hoped. "How old are you anyway?"

"7," Mercy answered, barely audible.

Paula wrinkled her nose in disdain and disbelief. "You're too tall to be 7."

She'd never really noticed she was tall for her age before, but she saw it was true now that she was around other kids. She was the tallest of the young girls and the young boys. She hunched down as if that could make her appear shorter, but it just made her tallness stick out all the more.

Paula was far from done though, encourages by the chuckles of her friends. "And my but your feet are big. You've got buffalo-sized feet."

Mercy tried to tuck her feet under her skirt, but her skirt was too short for that. The girls giggled harder.

"Ain't your ma that preacher lady? Women aren't supposed to be preachers, you know. They're just supposed to be mothers. Your ma's weird."

By now, she wanted to run home. The only thing that kept her from it was that her "abnormally" oversized feet were rooted to the spot with fear and discomfort.

A strange voice, a boy's voice, suddenly sounded from behind her. "Yeah, and her pa's Kid Cole, so you better leave her alone."

"He's not going to shoot a little kid," retorted Paula, but she didn't sound too sure of that.

"Kid Cole shoots everything. Everybody knows that," the boy said confidently. "Come on, Mercy. It stinks over here."

At least, she had somebody to sit with even if it was a boy. Her rescuer was close to her age. He had two large front teeth that he hadn't grown into yet, sandy blonde hair, and a goofy grin.

"I'm Nelson."

"I'm Mercy," she said even though he knew that already.

He told her all about himself and his bug collection during lunch, which kept her from having to talk.

The surprise in her lunch bucket was an apple pie. She got to eat pie so rarely because of the way they traveled around with only fires to cook over, but pies, any kind of pie, were her favorite dessert. Her mother had also cut her out a paper heart with 'I love you' written on it. It made her feel a lot better after the rough experience she just had.

After they ate, he asked, "Hey, you think I can meet your pa?"

"I guess so," she said with a shrug. She really didn't understand why everyone always seemed to know her parents, her father especially. She didn't know anything about Nelson's parents.

When school let out, her mother and brother there to walk with her back to the house. Maude and Abigail were there too. Apparently they had gotten together at some point so Isaiah and Abigail could play together.

Isaiah was working his hands, clutching and unclutching, and making his funny, little humming noises. Obviously retreating into some internal world that the rest of the world wasn't privy too.

"What's wrong with your brother?" Nelson asked, pulling his head back and making an exaggerated expression of bewilderment.

Her face burned despite the late fall chill. "There ain't nothing wrong with him!" Mercy had never wanted to hit anybody, not even when Paula had said all those mean things about her, but she was coming close to feeling that way now. Making fun of her brother was even worse than making fun of her, but instead, she showed her displeasure by walking away. She believed it too. Isaiah was just being Isaiah. There wasn't a thing wrong with him.

"So how was your first day?" Ruth asked, taking her hand when she got close enough.

"Good."

"Did you make any friends?"

"One." Though she wasn't sure she was friends with Nelson anymore.

"See, I told you there was nothing to worry about, my little Martha," Ruth said, letting go of her hand and tickling her. It was a nickname her mother called her after the biblical Martha whenever she got to worrying. She didn't tell her that she was still worried and dreaded the next day of school even more than she had this one.

"Abigail can't wait to go to school," Maude commented with a smile.

"I'm going to learn to read and then I'm going to read everything in the whole wide world," Abigail declared with excitement and sincerity.

Maude chuckled. "Well, maybe everything there is to read in El Pueblo anyway."


	4. Chapter 4

School didn't get much better for Mercy the next day. There was a frog in her bucket at lunchtime, a green, slimy thing with browns spots and brown stripes on its long legs.

Fortunately, she liked frogs and it hadn't gotten on the cornish pasty that her momma had packed for her. What bothered her was somebody had done it to be mean. The question was whether it was Nelson or Paula.

She held the amphibian up in her left hand and stroked its smooth, cool skin with her right middle finger as she fought to keep from crying. It would have been embarrassing to cry in front of the other kids like some little baby.

Then she noticed Nelson was looking at her, or rather looking at the frog. He moved over to her. "That's a beauty. Can I see it?"

He might have been pretending he'd never seen it, but she didn't think so. She handed the frog over and found Paula with her eyes, who was looking intently at her and looking a mite disappointed too. That cleared up any doubt as to who had placed the little frog there. She forced herself to look back at Nelson and ignore Paula.

He'd done gone and freed it, who must not have liked the prank any better than she had for it had already hopped away. Nelson was asking, "Does your pa let you shoot his gun?"

She shook her head immediately. "Sometimes he lets me hold the bullets while he loads them."

"That's slick," he exclaimed like it was the greatest thing in the world.

"Don't your pa have a gun?" Mercy asked, cocking her head.

"Well, yeah, but my pa's not Kid Cole. You're not still mad about yesterday, are you?"

Mercy forgave pretty easily and she'd realized in hindsight he hadn't meant anything by it. "Naw. I'm glad we're still friends."

"Me too. You think I could come by your house after school? My ma said it was alright with her."

"You might could. I'll ask."

"Let's hurry up and eat, so we can join the whip."

Crack the whip wasn't her favorite game in the world though she'd only played it once with a group of Sunday school kids and they'd gotten in trouble for it because they'd all been in their good church clothes, but she was willing to give it another go.

Mercy wondered if her momma would let Nelson come over and she was curious what her family was doing while she was at school.

sss

Anyone who knew Sister Ruth well, would know she was having a rough morning by the loose stands of hair and wrinkles in her dress. But the crying toddler who was trailing after her made it obvious to everyone.

They went into the trading post and Ruth looked back at her son. He couldn't be comforted. His face was red from the crying and his voice was hoarse, but he continued to howl. Ruth felt like the worse mother ever because of it. Why couldn't she comfort her own child? He refused even to be touched by her and it hurt. He was soothed more by the inanimate object he cried for than her.

"What's wrong with him?" Loren shouted over the sobs.

"We can't find his blanky," Ruth answered, equally loud. "And Kid went fishing for our supper instead of dressing Isaiah, so that threw him off his usual routine. He's a child who likes his routine and Kid being the one to dress him is part of that."

Loren didn't look as if he understood, but Maude sympathized. "It's funny how children get attached to things. Abigail had this little wooden wolf she carried around from her Noah's ark. It was covered in bite marks. I don't know what ever happened to it."

"I like wolves," Abigail spoke up. She had moved close to Isaiah, wanting to console him also but not knowing how.

Loren smiled affectionately. "You like every kind of animal."

"I think it's been bothering him too to have Mercy gone for so much of the day. He keeps going to the window, looking for her," Ruth explained.

"Aww," Maude said.

"Nothing a good whipping wouldn't fix," Loren mumbled. "A kid shouldn't be allowed to carry on like that."

Ruth wished it were only as simple as that. She would consider taking a hand to him if it would get him to stop, but it wouldn't. If anything, it'd only make it worse. "I was thinking more along the lines of getting a replacement. Can I see them fabrics up there?"

"You want to reward that kind of behavior?" Loren asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just let her see the fabrics," Maude said quietly but insistently.

Loren gave in and laid the few bolts of fabric out on the small counter.

"Come see if you can find blanky," Ruth said to Isaiah.

Though the sobs didn't altogether stop, they did quiet and slow as he moved to see if it was possible his blanket were among the fabrics.

None of them were close to matching the pale yellow his blanket was made from. There was a sunshine yellow cloth, but he wasn't fooled by the similar color and the cries started up again.

"Don't you want a new one?" Ruth pleaded with him.

His cries gave her the answer to that question.

"Well, thanks for letting us see," Ruth said, who looked near tears herself. "I reckon we'll just have to pray it turns up."

"Is this it?" Abigail asked, having disappeared and come back holding the worn, yellow blanket.

If Ruth hadn't been over 8 months pregnant, she would have gotten down on her knees and hugged and kissed the girl. "Thank you so much, sweetheart. I guess he left it when he was playing over here yesterday."

Isaiah took the blanket from Abigail, happy for the first time this morning. She could understand his attachment to it. Their surroundings constantly changed when the weather was warm, but the blanket was something that didn't change. It was his security. He hugged it tight and close.

Ruth let out a heavy and sad sigh, wishing he would hug people like that. Wishing that he would hug her like that.


	5. Chapter 5

"Why I think that's a fine idea!" exclaimed Ruth in response when Mercy asked her if Nelson could come over to play.

So Nelson walked home with them, Ruth asking him questions about himself.

They played a game of "hide the thimble" and Mercy was able to get Isaiah to join in on the game. They weren't playing too long before Kid finally returned.

Kid held up 5 beautiful rainbow trout, their speckled scales and red streaks gleaming in the late afternoon sun.

"No fish!" shouted Isaiah when he saw them. It wasn't his favorites food in the world. In fact, there were a lot of foods he didn't like, most being fruits and vegetables.

"Yes, fish," Kid said in reply.

"I see your day of fishing was successful," Ruth commented.

"Very restful and peaceful too. How was your day?"

"Don't ask," she said wryly.

"That bad, huh?"

"Isaiah lost his blanket. I'd like to never found it."

"I bet that was fun," Kid said, able to imagine the chaos that would have ensued from that event.

"Something like that. You noticed our guest?"

He saw the boy standing beside Mercy. "Why, no. What's your name, son?"

Ruth took the fish from Kid to get busy cleaning them, a distasteful task that made her glad she wasn't still experiencing morning sickness.

"He's my friend," Mercy introduced, seeing as how Nelson didn't answer right away. "His name's Nelson."

Nelson still didn't say anything.

"Nelson wanted to meet you," Mercy further told her father.

"Is that right? Well, a friend of Mercy's is a friend of mine."

Now that he was in front of the legendary Kid Cole, the normally talkative boy was completely tongue-tied.

Kid saw him eyeing his gun. "I've got something better than guns." He pulled out his heavy rosewood guitar from the case leaning against the wall. "What's your favorite song?" he asked as he sat down and got comfortable.

Isaiah, who loved the guitar, came running over to watch his dad play.

When Nelson couldn't think of any, Kid suggested, "How about Yankee Doodle?"

Nelson bobbed his head and up and down.

"A Yankee boy is trim and tall  
And never over fat, sir  
At dance, or frolic, hop and ball  
As nimble as a rat, sir

Yankey Doodle, keep it up  
Yankey Doodle dandy."

"You love to sing, Mercy. Don't be shy just cause you have a friend over," Kid said, wanting her to join him. She loved singing. She usually added in some dancing too when the mood struck.

Mercy joined in at his prodding, keeping it as soft as she could.

"Mind the music and the step,|  
And with the girls be handy.

His door is always open found  
His cider of the best, sir  
His board with pumpkin pie is crown'd  
And welcome ev'ry guest, sir

Yankey Doodle, keep it up  
Yankey Doodle dandy  
Mind the music and the step  
And with the girls be handy."

Nelson was grinning by this point, enjoying himself. None of his family was musically inclined. It wasn't how he expected Kid Cole to be at all, but he decided he liked him this way even better.

"You know what that put me in the mood for?" Kid called out to Ruth who he could see deboning fish in the kitchen.

"Not girls, I hope," Ruth said with a grin.

"Pumpkin pie."

She chuckled. "You better go fish you up some pumpkins then cause there ain't any in here."

sss

Sister Ruth wanted to invite people to the Sunday meeting she was going to hold. Kid didn't like her doing it alone, especially in her condition, so she, Kid, and, Isaiah went out together while Mercy was in school. They were hoping the mild, fall weather would continue to hold as they had no building but their own rented house if the weather turned bad.

An old man answered one door and recognizing who she was all but pulled her into the house. "My wife's been wanting to sing, but church is the only respectable place to sing in front of people. I'm Mr. Shepherd. This is Mrs. Shepherd."

The old woman asked, "You're not with one of those churches that don't believe in letting people sing solo, are you?"

Ruth looked puzzled. She's never heard of such a church, but she supposed there could be churches like that. "Why, no, sister. We'd love to listen to you."

Mr. Shepherd showed them where to sit.

While Kid and Ruth sat properly, Isaiah fidgeted with his clothes. She wondered if he still missed wearing only skirts. He certainly hadn't taken well to his trousers. That much was true.

"Why can't he sit still?" Mr. Shepherd asked, losing what little patience he possessed, which didn't appear to be much.

"His clothes bother him sometimes and he's 3," Kid said, his tone holding little patience for Mr. Shepherd's impatience.

Mrs. Shepherd cleared her throat to signal she was ready to begin. It didn't take but 2 seconds to find out she was terribly off key and very shrill and extremely loud. It was no doubt the worst rendition of "Amazing Grace" Ruth had ever heard and she'd heard some humdingers. She struggled not to wince and keep a smile.

Isaiah was sensitive to loud sounds also and his reaction was even more intense than the clothing produced. He covered his ears with his hands and repeated without ceasing, "Tud up, tud up, tud up!"

She prayed they didn't understand he was saying shut up, but his body language made the meaning of his words as plain as day.

Kid tried to take one of his hands to lead him outside and he screamed like a crazed banshee, so that Kid lifted his whole body instead. But the scream had stopped Mrs. Shepherd right in the middle of the hour she first believed.

"Maybe we should do this another time," Ruth said, trying not to be embarrassed.

The older couple nodded with strained looks.

Ruth couldn't follow after Kid fast enough.

"He's what happens when a mother neglects her most sacred duty," Mrs. Shepherd said with a sniff.

"And she's having another one," remarked Mr. Shepherd to his wife snidely. "What were they thinking?"

"Kid, let it go. It ain't worth getting upset over," she said quietly, trying to be the voice of reason. She'd seen him stiffen and stop, blocking the doorway.

"I'll be dad-blamed if I do." He set Isaiah down and gently helped her out the door before turning on the Shepherds. "My wife never neglects her duty to me or the kids. She's the best goldurn mother I've ever seen. And we'll have just as many children as we blasted well please. And, lady, if you ain't got any more Christian charity than that, you better sing them words over and actually listen to them instead of just caterwauling like a cat in heat."

Ruth was mighty glad Isaiah was still covering his ears.


	6. Chapter 6

"The Shepherds aren't here," Ruth said to Kid, eyes scanning the small crowd who waited for the service to start. "What a disappointment. They seemed eager enough before. You should apologize. Maybe then they'll come next Sunday."

"Why should I apologize? I'm not a bit sorry. I'm tired of people thinking they know everything about our parenting skills after witnessing one little episode. And Isaiah was only being honest. Lord knows I felt like joining him."

"I know how you feel and it made me mad that they said we shouldn't want another after Isaiah. He's the way God intended for him to be and he's with the family the Lord wanted him to be with, but sometimes you have to be the bigger person. If they come listen to the Word, their hearts may be softened and changed and that's more important than any petty quarrels between them and us."

"Well, you're a bigger person than me. I'm still not sorry for what I said because it was all true. If they were the first to apologize, I might consider apologizing for the way I worded some things a little strongly."

"A little strongly? Good Lord," she said, glancing heavenward. "You told her she had a voice that sounded like a cat in heat."

He grinned. "That was pretty good, wasn't it?"

"I give up. You're a stubborn fool, Kid Cole," she said, throwing her hands up dramatically.

"On a more serious note," he said, "don't overdo. You make this a short sermon and sit down when you feel like it."

She reassured him she would and he helped her slip on her white robe. Attendance wasn't all Ruth had hoped, but it was probably sizable for the area. It disappointed her that the congregation was mostly white when there was such a mishmash of people living in El Pueblo. But she wouldn't give up. She planned on making more visits this week. And as people spread the word that she was the real deal, she expected attendance would go up, it usually did despite any prejudices people experienced when she first arrived.

She preached on spiritual gifts, which wasn't a short topic by any means like Kid wanted, but then she wasn't sure she knew how to preach a short sermon. She ended by demonstrated one of the gifts, the gift of healing, and a handful were made well, including a little boy who stuttered.

Ruth looked to her precious son. If only his speech could be made clear. She looked to Kid. If only he could be rid of his consumption. If only the gift of healing could be wielded so that she could bestow health on her loved ones. People had thought her a fake before when they discovered her son's or her husband's ailments for what kind of a faith healer withheld healing from her own family. But they didn't understand how it worked.

She wasn't God to decide who was healed of what affliction. She couldn't control how much genuine faith a person had either. The Lord was the real healer, not her, and as much as she fought against that truth at times when she experienced her deepest frustration, she wouldn't have it any other way. He knew better than she why a thing should be so.

The crowd stayed to eat. They'd all brought food to share to make the first Sunday of worshiping an occasion.

Kid insisted on bringing out the food contributions she had made last night.

She made polite conversation with some of the ladies while watching the children out of the corner of her eye. Mercy played with Nelson. Abigail was trying to strike up a game of whip with Isaiah.

He was trying to tell her he wanted to play statue, but she wasn't understanding him and then she invaded his space, taking him by the hand anyway. He pushed her down in retaliation.

"Excuse me," she said to the ladies and rushed over to them.

Loren had beat her there though and helped Abigail up. "Are you alright?"

Abigail brushed her skirt off and nodded. It was easy to see that Loren was more upset over it than his daughter was or Maude, who had joined them by this point. However, it was Isaiah who was the most upset and he was still angry at Abigail for not understanding him and taking his hand without his permission.

He was looking to push her again, but Ruth quickly grabbed his hand and said firmly, "Isaiah, you need to calm down."

He dropped to his knees and began to cry. She couldn't pick him up and even if she could, it wouldn't be wise the way he was thrashing and kicking. He could do the baby harm.

By now, they had become quite the spectacle and Ruth did her best to stop it. "Isaiah, you want a sweet? I'll buy you some candy. Or a new toy. Wouldn't you like a new toy or a book?"

He wasn't listening. Her talking to him only seemed to be making it worse. The chatter of the crowd grew in volume and a few folks tried to tell her what she was doing wrong, having no clue she'd been through this before and she knew from experience nothing would help, not a punishment or a reward. He just had to ride it out.

One helpful man even tried to get in Isaiah's face to tell him to quit it and then seemed surprised when Isaiah kicked him in the shin.

The meltdown escalated to the point that Isaiah was crying and screaming uncontrollably.

Kid had heard the cries and rushed out. He was able to pick their son up and take him into the house, where Isaiah had the best chance of getting himself together in the quieter environment.

Mercy had come over to stand beside her as she faced the still staring crowd. "Please stay and eat, but you'll excuse me if I go inside for a minute."

The crowd didn't look as friendly as it had looked before. They thought her son was a brat. They thought she and Kid were bad parents. Loren had the hardest glare of all.

"Isaiah is no longer welcome to play with Abigail," Loren said.

"Loren, he didn't really do any harm," Maude said, trying to quietly reason with him. "Everyone has their bad days."

"And I'm not going to wait until he does cause harm," Loren said. "And she shouldn't be around such bad behavior either. It's a bad example. My mind's made up."

"I'm sorry," Maude said to Ruth, knowing Loren wouldn't budge on his position this time.

"I understand, sister," Ruth said in return. She fixed her eyes on Abigail. "Are you alright, sweetheart? You weren't scared, were you?"

"Come on, Abigail. Maude," Loren said. He took Maude's arm and Abigail's hand and led them back towards the store.

It was a shame an old friendship had to end this way, Ruth thought, but then her thoughts immediately traveled to Isaiah, wondering how he was coping, and she and Mercy went inside to check on him.


	7. Chapter 7

There was no screaming and crying now. Isaiah was curled up at his father's feet, his face still splotchy from his crying.

"I see things have calmed down in here. That's good," Ruth said.

"Yeah. How are things out there?" Kid looked out the window from where he sat, but he couldn't tell anything.

"As well as can be expected. The Brays are upset. Loren in particular. He doesn't want the children playing together anymore."

"That's plumb ridiculous," he said as loudly as dared with Isaiah's uncertain mood.

"Think about it from their point of view. Would you want Mercy to keep playing with a child who had hurt her in some way? He pushed her. That's what started it all."

"I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt her."

"I'm sure he didn't either. She took him by surprise taking his hand like she did, I think." She looked down at her son. Normally, she would have got down to his level to talk to him, but that was currently a physical impossibility. "What happened, Isaiah? Was it because Abigail couldn't understand you? She wanted to. You've got to be patient with people."

He was calm, but now it was like he was in some kind of lockdown mode. He either couldn't answer or refused to answer.

"Hitting is bad. If something or someone's bothering you, you need to use your words. Now you can't play with Abigail anymore and I know you two were getting to be good friends."

Nothing. He wasn't angry about it, he wasn't sad. He appeared as if he could care less. She wanted to hug him, but she knew that would most likely get him upset again.

30 minutes later, he was fully recovered as if the episode had never happened, looking at a fairytale book.

He was looking at one of his favorite stories, pointing and saying words.

"Are you reading, son?" Ruth asked, sitting down beside him for a better look at the book.

"Goat, wolf, kids," he said louder and more distinctly for her benefit.

He was only picking out certain words, but he was pointing to the right ones. Maybe it wasn't exactly reading, but it showed intelligence for a 3-year-old to be able to pick out words like that. He was well on his way to actually reading and his future looked a little brighter.

sss

They snickered behind their hands and looked pointedly at her on Monday. Mercy knew what her classmates were whispering about. They were whispering about her brother as a good number of the kids had been there.

She did her best to ignore it, but it made for a long day. Nelson still sat with her at lunch and played with her and he was nice enough not to mention the incident, having likely learned his lesson the first time he had mentioned her brother's behavior.

Her father and brother met her after school this time. He picked up on her shuffled walk and smilelessness right away. "Rough day at school?"

"Yeah."

"I think I know something that may make your day better. Just let me run it by your momma first."

Her mother was sitting or rather slouching. She didn't look like she was having too great a day either.

Kid crouched down beside Ruth and talked quietly in case she said no. "I want to teach Mercy to use a gun."

"What do you mean," she caught herself being too loud and lowered her voice, "you want to teach her to use a gun? She's still much too young."

"How old were you when your daddy started teaching you to use a gun?"

"6," she answered somewhat unwillingly.

"I was 5. Mercy's 7. I'm not saying we let her loose with a gun, but I think she's old enough to start learning the basics. I'm a firm believer that a child around guns ought to be taught to use and respect one as early as possible."

"That ain't so unsound, I guess, but what if Isaiah decides that if Mercy can do it, he can do it."

"He won't. I'll talk to him about it and you know I keep it either on my hip or out of their reach."

She sighed. "I know. I reckon it's just me worrying too much. She is very mature age. I suppose there's no real reason she can't start learning some things."

He stood back up. "How would you like to learn to shoot a gun?" he directed to Mercy.

She jumped up from her spot, grinning wide. "Yes, I would!"

Ruth couldn't keep herself from smiling at her enthusiasm. "You are your father's daughter."

Kid took her out to an empty field, far away from the houses and a potentially curious younger brother.

Mostly he emphasized safety during their lesson. How she should always treat a gun like it was loaded, how she should never point it at anything she wasn't prepared to kill, man or beast, and to never touch the trigger until she was ready to fire. Things that she knew already, but things that could never be emphasized too much.

He let her practice unloading and loading the chamber of the gun under his careful supervision.

"You ready to try firing?" he asked at last.

She nodded though she looked a little nervous now that the moment had actually come.

"Don't worry, honey. I'm not going to let you do it alone." He got down on his knees and held onto the handle of the gun. "Put your hands over mine."

Mercy did and he said, "See that tree? That's what we're going to aim to hit. You can pull the trigger whenever you're ready."

It was a lot easier pulling the trigger than she expected and the noise it made caused her to let go of it, but Kid still had a hold of it. The bullet hit one of the branches and shot it clean off the tree.

"I did it! I did it!" Mercy cried, dancing around with the sheer exuberance of hitting her first target.

"You sure did. Why don't you go get your prize and you can it home to show Momma?"

She skipped off merrily to claim her trophy. She couldn't wait until she got to tell Nelson she'd fired her father's gun. She knew he would be impressed.

sss

The following Sunday, attendance was down by a half. Ruth wasn't terribly surprised, but she was disappointed.

She went on with the service like nothing was wrong and this time she was able to keep it short because it was so cold and because her feet hurt.

Inside and after lunch, Ruth sat in the comfiest chair, her swollen feet propped up on the bench as she read the Bible to herself.

She didn't get to read long before Isaiah was trying to push the bench out from under her. He was so particular about where things were, adjusting the rug when it got the least bit out of place and she never had to ask him to pick up his toys like she had to with Mercy. Now he was trying to push the bench under her feet back against the wall where it had been before. He made her, a neat freak, look sloppy.

"Isaiah, stop that," Kid said.

He ignored his father and made grunting noises as he managed to move the bench a few inches.

Kid got up and moved the bench back those few inches and moved Isaiah to the other side of the room where the frustrated started bending at the knees and whining.

"None of that," Kid said in a tone that said he meant business. "Momma needs to keep her feet up."

Isaiah continued to get tearful.

Ruth stood up. "I want to go outside for a minute anyway. I think it'll help to stretch my legs a little bit."

She left before he argued against it. She didn't care that the temperature was falling and that it was even more frigid than it was earlier . She wanted to be alone to pray out loud to God and there was something so wonderful about praying where her eyes could behold His glorious creation.

"Oh, Lord, I don't know what's wrong with my son. Everyday feels like a battle. Sometimes I think he's going to be alright and then other times I don't know. He's so smart and he's a good boy, but something's not right and I don't know how to help him and Kid don't either. Show us how we can help him, Father. Give us the strength and patience we need for the task."

A solitary flake fell. It was joined by other fat, fluffy flakes. They were gone as soon as they touched the ground, but it was a pretty sight.

"What's that, Momma?" Isaiah asked, looking fascinated by the snowflakes. He'd wandered outside after her.

She smiled. She'd forgotten they'd wintered where there wasn't any snow last year and this was the first time he would remember seeing it. "Snow."

He looked up at it in such awe, his long, golden eyelashes fluttering when the snow hit his eyes. "God is good."

He knew who made the snow and he knew such a simple truth as the fact that God was good. She and Kid had to have been doing something right. "Yes, He is, baby. He's good all of the time. In all things."


	8. Chapter 8

Kid looked out at the darkening sky. "This won't be no little flurry. This has got the looks of an all-out snowstorm. Maybe even a blizzard."

"Praise God we're warm and snug in this little house," Ruth said. She pulled the shawl she was wrapped in tighter around her. She was feeling achy like she might start going into labor, but there were no real contractions yet. She prayed the baby wouldn't come during the midst of a blizzard, but then babies had a mind of their own about when the right time to arrive was.

"I'm going to take care of the horses now before it starts getting bad," Kid said, putting on his gloves, scarf, and coat.

Ruth was about to doze, having not had a good night's sleep the past couple of nights, but Isaiah's angry string of words soon cured her of that. He was so upset and talking so fast, he might as well have been speaking Greek. It pained her that he wanted to tell her something and couldn't, but when his sister joined them and he pointed at her, it became clear that Mercy had done something to make him mad.

"What is he trying to tell me?" Ruth asked her daughter.

Mercy shrugged, looking a little too innocent, and it wasn't like her not to understand him.

Ruth wasn't fooled for a minute, but she couldn't very well punish her without knowing for sure what she had done. "One day he's going to be able to talk plain and then you'll be in all kinds of trouble."

The door clicked shut, bringing the lecture to a halt. Isaiah had gone outside.

"He must've gone to your father. Follow him to make sure and don't pick at him."

"No, Momma," Mercy promised, getting her winter things on and getting Isaiah's to take out to him.

Mercy went straight to the small stable that had come with the property. Her father had just finished breaking through the ice that had formed on top of the water so the horses could drink.

He saw Isaiah's things in her hand. "Where's Isaiah?"

"He came outside. Momma thought he came to be with you."

"We better go find him then. The snow's picking up and it might be hard for him to see his way back to the house."

Her father had been right about the visibility getting harder. The swirling snow stung her eyes, making it hard to see.

"Isaiah!" he called out into the wind with no answer sailing back. "Isaiah!"

He tried to maintain a calm tone, but she could tell he was worried as he said, "Maybe he went back into the house after finding it too cold."

He took her free hand and guided her back to the front door.

"Did Isaiah coming back in?" he asked Ruth, not even bothering to stomp his feet to keep from making the floor wet.

"No," she answered, not even trying to hide her worry as she awkwardly rose to her feet. "He's not with you?"

He took Isaiah's coat, mittens, and scarf from Mercy. "I'll find him. He can't have gone far."

sss

Abigail was looking out the window, enjoying watching the snow fall when she saw a most unexpected sight.

"Papa, Isaiah-"

Loren interrupted his young daughter. "I don't want to hear anything about that boy."

"But-" Abigail said, trying to explain once more.

"You heard me," he said sharply.

Her mother gave her a sympathetic look but didn't intervene.

She looked out the frosted windowpanes once more. She could still make out his blond hair shining in the fading evening light. He was heading away from town. She was curious to know where he was going and it sounded like tons of fun to strike off on one's own without one's parents along.

Her father was deep in his account's book and her mother was occupied with sewing, making it easy to sneak out. All she had to do was go into the living space that was connected to the back of their store and go out the back way. She started to go without her coat, but she grabbed her cloak that was hanging by the door when she felt a blast of the frigid air.

"Where'd Abigail go?" Loren asked Maude a few minutes later after he'd closed the book.

"In back. To play I suppose." She gathered up her sewing thing and followed him out of the store.

At first, Loren thought she was playing a game. "Abigail, Papa's going to find you."

But a careful search of the house and store proved unfruitful and then he spotted her missing cloak. "She's gone outside."

"Probably to play with Isaiah. She mentioned his name. I thought it was a bad idea keeping her away from him."

"She's going to be in a load of trouble when I get my hands on her," he grumbled as he put his coat on. "She's over at the Coles' then, I suppose."

Snow blew into the room when he opened the door. The weather wasn't fit for man or beast to be out in, let alone his little girl. Worry replaced some of the anger he was feeling as he set out to find her.


	9. Chapter 9

A wider search and Kid still turned up empty. No Isaiah in sight and the snow wasn't yet thick enough for footprints. He had saddled Horse and was getting ready to take the warm blankets and the hot tea and hot potatoes Ruth had prepared while he'd been looking because Isaiah was going to be one cold little boy when they found him.

There was a knock on the door and the Coles all hoped against hope that Isaiah had been found.

"Where's my daughter?" Though Loren barked the question, wanting to blame them for his missing child, there was clearly a look of dread there too. He knew Kid would have walked her home if she had come here.

"We haven't seen her since the Sunday before last," Kid said. "You seen our son? He's wandered off somewhere too."

"That's what she was trying to tell me," Loren suddenly realized, feeling the fool. "She saw Isaiah. She must have gone to join him." All anger was gone and meekness had taken its place. He should have listened to his daughter. If anything happened to either one of the children, he'd hold himself responsible.

"Well, at least, we know the general direction he took, that's a start." Kid moved for the door, time being precious.

"I'm going to round up some of the men. We'll find them." Loren said the last part more to calm his own nerves than to reassure them.

Ruth's eyes were closed and her mouth was moving in silent prayer, but he was able to read his daughter's name on her lips. Loren felt even guiltier. She was a good, godly woman and if Mercy was any indication, a good parent too. And furthermore, Isaiah was only 3, not the first 3-year-old to push another child and not the last, even if his tantrums were somewhat extreme and overblown. He'd been too hard on the boy in that regard.

"Sister Ruth, sometimes where my daughter's concerned, I get overprotective and don't see too straight," Loren said contritely.

"Now's no time for apologies," Kid said. "We need to find them. Every second counts."

Loren nodded in agreement and looked back at Ruth one more time. "If you two need anything, get Maude." He left quickly to round up as many men to search as he could.

"Don't worry," Kid said to both Ruth and Mercy. He might as well have shouted it into the wind. Of course, they were going to worry.

Ruth had been biting her lip to keep from doubling over in pain with a contraction towards the end. She let out a large breath she'd been holding in and sank into the chair. The last thing Kid needed was to be worried about her and the baby too. He needed to be focused on finding Isaiah.

There were too many contractions and they were too close together now for it to be a false labor. This baby would be here before the snowstorm was gone.

"Get Mrs. Bray." She hated to send her out, but the snow had slowed though it showed no signs of stopping and she knew Mercy could find her way there and back. She was a smart girl and the store was practically a hop, skip, and a jump away. Furthermore, Maude had put lights in the windows the same as Ruth to act as a beacon.

Mercy didn't ask questions about why she wanted Mrs. Bray. She looked happy to have something to do.

"And pray, sweetheart. Pray hard. Pray without ceasing."

sss

"I'm lost," Abigail said to Isaiah. This was turning out to be a lot less fun than she had anticipated. All she could see was snow. There was no town or even a house in sight just snow, snow, and more snow. And she was cold.

"Me too," Isaiah said.

"We need to stop moving. My papa will find us."

"Daddy find me too." His teeth chattered so hard that he could hardly get the sentence out.

Abigail lifted her green woolen cloak to share with him. He didn't hesitate but eagerly took up the offering of warmth as meager as it was. They huddled under the cloak, shivering and feeling very sleepy even though they were on their feet.


	10. Chapter 10

"Why, Mercy!" Maude pulled the girl in quickly and shut the door. She couldn't do anything about her own daughter, so it was satisfying in a way that she could do something to keep at least one child warm. "Did they find Abigail and your brother?"

"I don't know, but Momma needs you."

Maude knew what that likely meant. "Hold on and let me get my coat. I'll walk back over with you. "

Seeing Sister Ruth confirmed it. She recognized that strained look. "What are you still standing up for? Let's get you in bed." She was glad to have something useful to do much like Mercy had been earlier.

Mercy followed Maude and her mother into the bedroom.

"Your mother's getting ready to get you a new baby brother or sister," Maude said. "You just have to wait for the arrival in the other room. The stork'll be along before you know it."

"I'm 7 years old. I know where babies come from," Mercy said, surprising both Maude and Ruth.

"God puts them in the mommas' tummies," Mercy continued when they didn't seem to know what to say. "I know you've got one in your stomach."

Ruth was relieved that it was all she knew. You never knew what a child was going to pick up at a revival from some of the more colorful attendees. "You're right. You want to feel it moving?"

Mercy came over and her mother guided her to where she could feel. Mercy was so startled she drew her hand away when she felt the movement, but she was grinning. It was hard for her to believe there was a little baby in there even knowing what she did, but she couldn't wait to meet it.

She was about to ask if she could feel again, but Ruth bent over a little and said, "Oh, Lord!" It was a prayer, a groan, and a cry of pain all rolled into one.

"It definitely won't be long now. Run along, Mercy," Maude repeated.

"But I also know you have to catch the baby when it falls out. One of my friends told me about her lambs falling out. She said the momma sheep didn't even act like she knew they was falling out just kept munching on her grass. I'm not scared to watch." There was a momentary pause and she turned to Maude and shyly asked, "Are you a good catcher?" She didn't like to think about her baby brother or sister hitting the floor.

"I am and despite all your knowledge, your momma needs privacy," Maude said, gently pushing her towards the door this time.

"You could let us know when you see them coming," Ruth suggested. "And feed the fire so it stays nice and toasty for both your siblings."

Mercy looked a little disappointed she wouldn't be seeing the arrival of the baby, but she knew it was important to keep the fire going for when Isaiah got there.

Ruth chuckled when Mercy was gone. "I allow I wish it would just kind of fall out on its own without me noticing. I wonder how the sheep do it?" She was acting jovial for Maude's sake as much as for her own to distract.

A particularly strong contraction wiped the smiled off her face again and her teeth clenched. She didn't want to make any cries of pain lest she scare an already worried Mercy.

"What's taking them so long?" Maude fretted when there was a reprieve.

"They'll take them to the nearest shelter to get them warmed up. They won't bring them here first. I'm sure they'll get word to us as soon as they can though."

"Of course." Maude attempted a smile that didn't quite succeed. She wanted to believe it.

"I asked the Lord to watch over them and He will. I'm sure you've prayed for them too. All that's left for us to do is trust." Whether the answer to their prayers would equal returning the children to their mother's arms alive remained to be seen though she didn't tell Maude that part.

"I know you're right. It's calming the mother in me that's the problem."

Ruth was further along than she'd thought as she already felt that overwhelming urge to push. "It'll be any minute now."

Maude took her place at the foot of the bed. "Let's see how good a catcher I am."

She would have laughed if she wasn't in the middle of pushing.

"It's a boy," Maude soon said over the high-pitched cries of a newborn.

Maude worked to clean and hide the mess a birth created, so Mercy could be invited in, while Ruth bonded with the infant.

"You can come in now," Maude announced when finished, opening the door.

This time Mercy hung in the doorway, not sure how close she should get to the new baby.

"Well, come meet your new brother. He don't bite. Not yet, anyway," Ruth said, smiling. "You can come right up to the bed just don't get on it."

"You sure it's another brother?" Perhaps it was a girl and they'd just overlooked that fact. She'd been hoping for a sister. Not that she didn't love Isaiah, she just wanted a sister.

"Very sure, honey. And I guarantee you'll be thankful for it one day. The Lord always knows what He's doing." She brought the baby closer to Mercy so she could get a good look at him.

Mercy was quickly coming to terms with it already. He was cute and it would be fun having a new baby in the house.

Another boy, Ruth thought as she held him against her. This one with a tuft of light brown hair and the same blue eyes Mercy and Isaiah had been born with. And he was healthy by all appearances. Praise God. It was a perfect moment marred only by Kid and Isaiah's absence. She hoped that Kid had Isaiah wrapped snugly in his arms in a blanket this very moment like she did this baby.

sss

Loren got the men of the town together in two shakes of a lamb's tail. They were sympathetic to both of the men rather than laying any blame at Isaiah's feet. The men quickly formed and fanned out into pairs, agreeing to meet back at the same spot in 30 minutes for any news.

Towns could come together in a crisis in a way they couldn't seem to when things were going good, but Kid was thankful they were able to put aside their judgments to help a child. He had to give them credit for that.

Kid and Loren chose to go north from where Abigail had seen Isaiah through the window. They prayed they had stayed straight, but in this mess of snow it was a long shot that they had.

"I think I see an indention," Kid said when they'd rode a ways, pointing to the barest hint of a possible footprint; the snow had quickly filled most of it in, but it was the right size for a child's shoe. It looked as if they'd miraculously stayed straight after all.

"We must be on the right track," Loren shouted back over the howling wind, urging his horse onward.

Kid with his sharper vision saw them first. They were laying in the cold, wet snow, unmoving. He all but jumped off the horse and Loren was no different though Kid got to them first.

"They're breathing," Kid said, picking up his son. They'd arrived just in time to save them from the looks of it. If he hadn't believe in guardian angels before this, he did now. The children could have wandered anywhere, but they'd been found.

On Horse again, this time with his son, he brushed the snow from Isaiah's thick blonde hair and wrapped the blankets he'd engulfed him in tighter while Loren similarly fussed over Abigail. Then they rode back for town as fast as safety and the horses would permit for they weren't out of the woods yet. Both children had yet to open their eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

Kid and Loren saw the bright glow of the firelight and took them to Kid's rented house rather than the store because of it.

"They're here! They're here!" Mercy shouted to Maude and her mother, opening the front door before they needed to knock.

Maude rushed into the front room. Her happy look turned into fear. "Is she..." but she couldn't bring herself to finish her question.

"She's alive," Loren said quickly.

They put the children as close to the fire as they could without risk of their clothes catching fire and traded in the wet blankets for dry, warm ones.

Kid saw that Isaiah's fingers were red and he rubbed them between his hands to stave off possible frostbite.

"If not for your daughter, I don't believe my son would be alive right now," Kid said to Loren.

"She's acted better than I have lately," he replied with a sheepish look.

"The fact that you can admit it is one of the many reasons I love you, Loren Bray," Maude said, putting a hand to his shoulder and then working to take off the children's wet socks and shoes.

Abigail opened her eyes first and looked around confused at the lapse of time. Her parents hugging her immediately before she had a chance to ask questions.

"How do you feel?" Loren asked.

"Cold," she answered and her teeth were clicking together hard, but it wouldn't be long now before she warmed up completely.

Isaiah woke up just a few minutes later. "I'm hungry," he said.

Mercy brought him a cookie she had helped their mother bake earlier. "I'm sorry, Isaiah. I won't take your toys from you no more."

"What were you thinking?" Kid asked Isaiah, both relieved he was awake and annoyed with the boy at the same time.

He only shrugged.

"He likes the snow, Daddy," Mercy said, knowing the answer without his saying. "But he got lost. And he was mad at me."

"The snow can be dangerous. You could have been a lot worse off, son. You don't wander off without telling me and your momma ever. Understand?" he said full of sternness, knowing how close they'd been to losing him.

He didn't answer, but he seemed to understand.

"You too, Abigail," Loren added. "I know I wasn't doing the best job of listening, but you should have tried harder to tell your ma and me about seeing Isaiah. You and him could have been seriously hurt."

"Yes, Pa," she said.

Loren patted her head. He didn't have the heart to punish her after everything.

It was only then Kid realized Ruth wasn't in the room. "Where's Ruth?"

"Resting in the other room," Maude said with a revealing smile.

Kid's eyes widened as he realized only one thing would have kept her from seeing that Isaiah was alright with her own eyes.

He burst into the bedroom. "You had the baby! Is everything alright? Are you and he alright?"

"Everything went fine. The baby couldn't be dandier. How's Isaiah?"

"Recovering. Still a little cold, but he's going to be okay."

"Thank you, Jesus."

"I'll be honest; I doubted whether God was going to come through. I'm sure you never doubted though."

"I doubted for a minute or two there, but He's always in control whatever the outcome. I just had to keep reminding myself of that. I know Thankgiving ain't till April, but it feels like we ought to be having it now." She held the bundled baby up for him to take.

He grinned as he brought his youngest son close to his chest. "Maybe we ought to petition to have it moved to November." He stroked the baby's cheek and the newborn turned his head and opened his mouth, searching for a meal. Kid gave him his finger to suck on. "Missing out on the births of my sons is getting to be a bad habit."

"You didn't miss much unless you just enjoy seeing me in pain," she teased.

"Thought of any good names?" he asked, looking down at his wife.

"Well, I like the name Gideon."

Isaiah and Mercy came into the bedroom to be with their parents.

"We talking about the one who put out the fleeces to test God before doing as He asked?" Kid wanted to know. "He don't seem like the greatest biblical hero to me. Why would you want to name him Gideon?"

"Because the story of Gideon shows that God can handle our doubts with great patience. And that He can use us whatever our weaknesses are."

She looked at her oldest son. "In fact, it's usually through our weaknesses that the Lord is glorified the most. That he is one of the least likely biblical heroes makes him one of the greatest and it's something Gideon knew well: that God deserved credit for winning the battle and that it was God who should rule over them."

"When you put it that way, it is the perfect name. And since Isaiah was named Benjamin for my brother, what do you say we let Gideon be named for your father?"

"Gideon James Cole. That does sound nice, don't it? Daddy'll be so excited when we write him and tell him." She called to Isaiah. "Come here, honey, and let Momma have a look at you. You're not still cold, are you?"

He came over obediently though he didn't get right up next to her and he was eyeing the baby as if he didn't quite know what to make of this newcomer.

"You're a big brother now," Ruth said. "What do you think of that?"

He frowned, grabbed his blanket that was laying nearby, and shuffled off back into the other room, leaving behind chuckles in his wake.


	12. Chapter 12

Kid rocked Gideon while Ruth worked on her sermon for that Sunday. Mercy was trying to play house with an uncooperative Isaiah.

"He looks the most like me of all our children, I do believe," Kid said, "but I think he's going to act the most like you. He's got your need for motion and running his mouth."

She had been tapping her hand both to release restless energy from being in bed so many days and to dispel the silence which she preferred to fill with sound as she read over her preaching notes, which made her realize he was probably right. She chuckled in response. "I hope for your sake that's not true."

He looked at her lovingly. "I hope it is."

She stopped to look at their youngest child. He had shown his uniqueness even while he was still in the womb. He had been the most active of all of her children, kicking and somersaulting almost nonstop and he was no different in the outside world with squirming limbs and eyes darting about as if he wanted to skip the infant stage altogether and be running about with his brother and sister. And when he wasn't crying, he was trying to make noises.

She looked to the window and saw that Loren was walking over in his Sunday best. The snow had already melted away, but there would be more. She prayed there would be none so eventful.

When she went to the door to greet him. She was surprised to see a crowd again for Sunday worship gathered over towards Loren's store, bigger than it had ever been since she'd been here. She'd been planning to hold the service in the house due to the coldness, but the house wouldn't hold them all even if they used every room, a blessing and a problem both.

However it was one quickly solved by Loren. "I told them they were being ridiculous, holding what you couldn't help against you, the way your son is and you being a woman."

"Well, thank you, brother, but where are they all going to fit?"

"My store. It's bigger than this place. Might not all fit in the same room, but I know you're loud enough to be heard throughout."

Definitely a blessing and it was brought about by a snowstorm. She smiled as she thought of a verse: _Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word._

30 minutes later, she was preaching to the townsfolk of El Pueblo. Abigail and Isaiah were entertaining themselves quietly in the corner with blocks Loren had provided. Abigail was building and Isaiah was putting them in a line.

"We're all like snowflakes, beautiful and individual on our own,but when we come together to serve our Creator's purpose, we're strong. We're one body made up of many members. Our jobs, our functions won't look the same on the surface, but we were all put here for the same reason, which is to glorify God and have fellowship with Him and to help each other.

"He made some people tall, He made some people short. Some of us are young and some are old. And we all have our own gifts to share for the building up of God's kingdom. What's yours? Don't belittle your usefulness or the usefulness of others.

"But maybe you aren't a part of that body. Maybe you need to know God, to know Jesus Christ before you can find your purpose in life."

She told them how they could know Him and 3 people came to Christ that Sunday as much because of Isaiah getting lost as because of her. She knew he had a unique purpose here. She couldn't wait to see the purposes unfold for all of her children.

 _Real Universe_

The verse served the desired effect of silencing the people, reminding them Who had made Frank, "the idiot-savant", as he was labeled on the poster outside.

"You should be ashamed, using this boy for your entertainment," Ruth told the crowd. "When you laugh at or scorn these people rather than celebrating that we're all different, you're really mocking the Master's handiwork."

Her words rang true and it didn't take long for the crowd to disperse, but the performers didn't look pleased except for Frank, who didn't look as if he cared one way or another.

"Well, thanks a lot for scaring off paying customers, lady," the announcer said.

"The kid's got to eat. You thought about that?" asked one of the performers, a woman with no arms. "Hang your principles."

"There are better ways," Sister Ruth insisted, looking earnestly at the 5 performers and the announcer, all assembled on the platform.

"Yeah? Well, I'm the owner of this little sideshow. Name me a way and I'll consider it," said the announcer, folding his arms.

"Maybe she's right. I hate when people stare," said another of the performers. Her sister, who shared the same body being that they were conjoined twins, disagreed. "People would stare no matter what we did, at least this way we do it on our terms for a profit."

Ruth was listening and did realize the difficulty they would have finding regular jobs. "Well, for one you could still have your show, but bill and present it in a kinder way. You make them seem like spectacles instead of human beings loved by God as if their being here is a fluke of nature rather than a plan."

The last of the performers, a self-made freak given the tattoos that covered his body, laughed. "Considering I'm billed as being raised with pagan savages, it'd be kind of funny if I took to preaching at the crowds."

"We got a good thing going that we all benefit from," the announcer/owner said. "I can't afford to muck it up with religion."

Kid came into the tent before Ruth could formulate a reply to that. "Someone recognized you and wondered if you could come heal their grandmother right away. She's sitting out in one of the wagons. They want you to hold a revival too. Judging from some of the repentant expressions I saw on the people leaving the show, the town's ripe for it."

The owner looked friendly all of a sudden as he asked, "You're a woman faith healer? Can you can really heal people or are you just a showman too?"

"I can really heal. Through Jesus. Not on my own power."

"You wouldn't be interested in joining our little show, would you?" he asked, offering a smile.

Sister Ruth didn't have to say anything, her look of reproach said it all.

"I guess not. I knew it was a long shot, buy you can't blame a man for trying."

"I'll be praying for all of you," she said. Not an empty promise as she carried a journal around where she added names and faces to pray for. She would pray they and those around them would see their worth, would see that they too were made in the image of God and deserved to be viewed in that light. Most importantly she would pray that they would all come to know the love God had for them.

Ruth couldn't help but chuckling at the offer after leaving the tent. "I reckon I am a bit of an oddity. I didn't realize I could get paid for it though. I guess I got something to fall back on if the revival business gets too hard." She kidded, knowing her gift wasn't given for display but for the Lord's work.

"I guess we're all a little odd in some way or another. But I'd pay 10 cents to look at you any day," Kid said, grinning as he put his arm around her.

The End

A/N: For those wondering what the characters had, since I didn't label it within the story due to the time period, Frank was classically autistic and savant. Isaiah had Asperger's, which is on the autism spectrum but is higher-functioning and can sometimes look very similar to classic autism when they're young. Thanks for reading!


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